K/1 Inclusion and ELL

Helping our Newcomer's Sense of Belonging

What K/1 Teachers Can Do for Emergent Bilinguals...

respond positively to children’s attempts;

respond by affirming the children’s attempts to communicate;

respond using a combination of gestures, words, and tone of voice;

speak with families to learn a couple words in the children’s first language;

display and highlight writing in a variety of languages.

Books about Immigration and Welcoming Newcomers

I'm New Here

Maria is from Guatemala, Jin is from Korea, and Fatima is from Somalia. All three are new to their American elementary school, and each has trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English. Through self-determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity.


Book is available in your K Inclusion Kits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5C8upd7qgo

Lesson Ideas for "I'm New Here"

I'm New Here: Welcoming Immigrant Students

Same Same but Different

Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals. By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school. Their worlds might look different, but they are actually similar. Same, same. But different!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63F0vdGMKqA

The Sandwich Swap

Salma and Lily are best friends who like jumping rope, drawing pictures, and playing on the swings together. They also eat lunch together every day, but Salma always eats hummus and Lily eats peanut butter and jelly. One day, Lily tells Salma her sandwich looks yucky, and before they know it, the girls have started a school-wide food fight. Feeling ashamed, Salma and Lily try each other's sandwiches, and find them delicious! Then, they help organize a picnic so everyone at school can try each other's food and learn about each other's culture.


Written by Queen Rania Al Abdullah from Jordan.


Book is available in your Grade 1 Inclusion Kits

Sandwich Swap Lesson Plan

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio

Multilingual Parent Resource Sheets

These resource sheets are available in fourteen languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Farsi (Persian),Hindi, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Traditional Chinese, Urdu and Vietnamese.

To download, please click on the PDF symbol for the resource sheet and language you desire.

Note: Each sheet has the equivalent English sheet as page 2.

"Hold On" Brochures

An essential way to help our Newcomer families feel that they are welcome is to respect and encourage their heritage language. For our Kindergarten Newcomers we must do everything we can to help them "hold on" to their first language(s) and to help their parents see the importance of growing literacy in that language.


These Brochures can be given to parents to help them see the immense value that their first language(s) bring.

Bilingual and Digital Books

Unite for Literacy: We picture a world where all children have access to an abundance of books that celebrate their languages and cultures and cultivate a lifelong love of reading.

You Are Special: Dual Language Books

We are a Canadian store specializing in dual language and multicultural children's resources. Our mission is to help children learning different languages and cultures.

Language Lizard

Products and books in dual language. Canadian shipping.

Multilingual Classroom Labels

Supporting English Language Learners in Kindergarten

The Danger of a Single Story

The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie